Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-06

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Living in a country where you have to speak a foreign language can cause serious social problems, as well as practical problems.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Residing in a country where you have to speak non-native language can cause a serious social and practical issues. I completely agree with this statement because when we are in abroad we must know the language of that country where we are living.

To begin with that if we are living in abroad before moving there we must learn the language of that where we are moving, because it can reasons of major issues for instance, social and practical issues such as, whenever we go to outside of our home and meet someone and we don't know how to communicate with other people of that country. Moreover, when we are hungry and want to eat something and go to a grocery mart to buy some food item it can also a major issue if we don't speak foreigh laguage because we don't know how to speak with the shopkeepers and tell which products we need to bring.

On the other hand, whenever we got sick and want to visit a doctor we can't tell him what problem we are suffering from and it's a major issue for us. We want a translator there to translate our problem to the doctor. Additionally, if we are living there with our family members and when we go to our children's schools for their admissions and it's also a big problem for us because we don't speak non-native language. For instance, when we go to visit our children's school we can't speak with their teachers because we don't know how to speak in their native language.

In conclusion, living in abroad without knowing the foreign language is a large problem for those who don't learn the language of that country before moving.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the opening: you completely agree that living where a foreign language is needed can create social and practical problems. You address both areas with relevant examples, including difficulty communicating with local people, buying food, explaining an illness to a doctor, and dealing with a child’s school. These examples make the response relevant, but several points are presented as situations rather than fully explained consequences. For instance, the grocery example could clarify how misunderstanding affects daily life, while the school example could explain the impact on a child or family. The conclusion restates your view, but the response would be stronger with more developed reasoning and a clearer distinction between social and practical difficulties.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The examples are generally grouped by topic, and linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “On the other hand,” and “Additionally” help signal progression. However, the organisation is not always smooth. “On the other hand” suggests a contrast, but the following point about visiting a doctor adds another practical problem rather than presenting an opposing view. Several sentences also repeat the same idea about not knowing how to speak the language, which makes the progression feel mechanical. To improve, organise the body paragraphs explicitly around practical problems and social or family problems, and use clearer references so each example builds on the previous point.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “communicate,” “translator,” “admissions,” and “native language.” However, the range is limited and some wording is repetitive, particularly repeated references to “major issues” and not knowing how to speak the language. There are also noticeable word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems, such as “grocery mart,” “foreigh laguage,” and “products we need to bring.” These sometimes make the intended meaning less natural or precise, although the overall message remains understandable. Aim to learn common collocations for everyday situations and check spelling carefully. More precise terms such as “grocery store,” “foreign language,” and “explain what I need” would make the examples clearer and more idiomatic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including clauses introduced by “when,” “because,” and “if,” so there is some variety in structure. The main ideas are usually understandable, but errors in sentence construction and grammatical forms occur across the response. For example, “a serious social and practical issues” has an article and number mismatch, while “when we are in abroad” and “it can also a major issue” show problems with prepositions and verb structure. Some sentences combine several ideas without clear grammatical control, especially the long sentence beginning “To begin with that.” To improve, practise accurate article use, verb patterns, and sentence boundaries, and check each sentence for a complete subject and verb. Shorter, well-controlled sentences can support your longer examples.

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